Rabat – The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) has called for a symbolic protest in front of the headquarters of the EU delegation in Rabat to protest visa restrictions placed on Moroccan citizens.
AMDH said it sent an open letter to the EU delegation on September 19, protesting “several abuses of the right of movement that visa applicants have been experiencing.”
AMDH went on to say that the restrictions cause “real suffering” for the applicants and their families, and demanded that the EU delegation should intervene to put a stop to the situation.
Following the absence of a response, AMDH announced that it is organizing a symbolic protest in front of the delegation’s Rabat headquarters on Tuesday, October 4 at 1PM.
The association also said it will hand in another letter of protest against the restrictions to the EU’s ambassador in person after the protest.
In late 2021, France imposed visa restrictions on Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian citizens. Despite later lifting the restrictions on the other two countries, Moroccan citizens continue to complain of being refused visas.
While France claims the measures are because Morocco has refused to take back deported migrants, the North African kingdom has denied the claims, with officials and NGOs calling the decision a politically motivated one.
Stricter visa restrictions have also been observed in other European embassies, with the rejection rate for Moroccan Schengen applicants standing at around 28%, higher than the global average
Human rights advocates have been particularly critical of the arbitrary politically-driven rejection of applicants. Due to the French policy, applicants continue to see their applications rejected despite meeting all the requirements to qualify for visas, with no solid reasons presented by embassies, as well as the refusal to refund visa fees after said rejections.
Earlier this week, The Moroccan League for the Defense of Human Rights also sent a letter to the UN’s Human Rights Commission decrying the restrictions and calling for actions against them.
